Operation Game Thief event to debut in Laredo

Operation Game Thief’s Clay Stoppers sporting clay shoots in Austin have been so successful over the past five years that a new one is on the horizon.

The inaugural OGT shoot in Laredo will be on May 30 at the new South Texas Shooting Complex operated by the Laredo Gun Club.

The chairwoman of the shoot is Texas Parks & Wildlife Commissioner Margaret Martin, formerly of Laredo and now a Boerne resident, who has garnered local and statewide support for the shoot.

“It’s a large, beautiful, new facility with lots of opportunity for clay shooting,” Martin said in a statement. “We are encouraging youth and first-time shooters –; they get to shoot for free.

“It is also a fun opportunity to create more awareness to a very important project, OGT, and the role our game wardens have in protecting the integrity of our natural resources.”

Benelli and Beretta will even provide loaner shotguns for new shooters if they don’t have their own.

The event will benefit OGT, which operates a 24-hour, toll-free hot line for reporting violations at (800) 792-4263, pays rewards of $1,000 for information and provides death benefits for families of officers killed in the line of duty.

The shoot in Austin in April drew about 15 more teams than last year’s, which put the total at nearly 300.

One of them was Gov. Rick Perry, who has shot in the OGT event every year.

“It’s a fun, interactive event –; it’s about camaraderie and competition,” Perry said in a statement. “And it raises money for programs of interest to outdoorsmen.”

Joe McBride, who founded the event, added, “These shoots afford participants a fine time, a lot of fun, a terrific meal prepared by the game wardens, coveted prizes and hunting trips, along with the opportunity to be part of a great movement.”

Five-person teams can enter the Laredo shoot for $750; individual shooters are $150.

Each shooter must provide his shells.

Top shooters will choose from several unique prizes, and a raffle offers a chance for anyone to win guns.

Registration will be available at the event or by contacting Lt. Eric Howard at (512) 389-8801 or eric.howard@tpwd.state.tx.us.